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Facebook 'Friends' Its City, Pays for Officer

Company Gives No-Strings-Attached Gift to Menlo Park, Calif., to Fight Truancy and Help Businesses Plan for Emergencies

Facebook has funded the salary of a Menlo Park police officer and the construction of a police substation near its headquarters. Experts say such arrangements can lead to potential conflicts of interest. WSJ's Zusha Elinson reports. Photo: Craig Lee for The Wall Street Journal

MENLO PARK, Calif.—On a recent afternoon, police officer Mary Ferguson visited the home of a teenager in this Silicon Valley suburb who had been missing school and was on probation.

Officer Ferguson approached the boy's father as part of her rounds and asked if he checks the teen's Facebook page to make sure he's "on the up and up." When the man said he didn't, the officer assured him she did—thanks to a Facebook account she uses as part of her job that doesn't reveal her true identity. "I'll keep my eye on...